Long haul tour operator Kuoni will continue its strategy to increase the amount of product it sells online, but does not see an end to its relationship with traditional travel agents. UK managing director Sue Biggs told delegates at the ITT conference in Oman this week the company is “comfortable” with current levels of around…
Kuoni ‘comfortable’ with web strategy
Long haul tour operator Kuoni will continue its strategy to increase the amount of product it sells online, but does not see an end to its relationship with traditional travel agents.
UK managing director Sue Biggs told delegates at the ITT conference in Oman this week the company is “comfortable” with current levels of around 8% for direct sale.
The operator is looking to reach a target of online sales of around 15%, Biggs said.
However it is likely that Kuoni will look to push more product online if the situation changes.
Biggs said: “If the amount of trade business goes down because they are selling their own products, we will have to go down the direct route.”
To reinforce the company’s commitment to offline sales, Biggs said confirmed its holidays would never be discounted through direct channels such as the internet.
The Kuoni website will continue to be a major part of its branding strategy and as a tool for consumers to browse through products before they purchase with an agent or via the company’s call centre.
Biggs said the website had “millions of hits” from consumers visiting the site purely for research and would continue to push the use of images and video content in the future.
